Insurance

Legal Definition and Related Resources of Insurance

Meaning of Insurance

Insurance is a contract of indemnity whereby for a stipulated consideration one party , called the insurer, undertakes to indemnify the other , called the insured, against damage or loss, on a specified subject by specified perils, in consideration of a payment received, called a premium . The instrument by which the contract is entered into is called the policy. See Cumis Ins. Soc. v republic Nat. Bank, (Tex. Civ.App.) 480 S. W.2d 762. accident and life insurance are not contracts of indemnity. Life insurance, in consideration of a certain premium, undertakes to pay to the beneficiary of the policy a certain sum of money on the death of the person whose life is insured. A person has an insurable interest in his own life on which he may effect a bona fide insurance. When once the insurance is effected, he is at liberty to assign the policy to whom he pleases and the assignee need not have an insurable interest . Accident insurance is a contract to pay a fixed sum of money on death resulting from accidental causes. there are also other types of insurance, such as insurance to cover disabilities; insurance on livestock ; automobile insurance; marine insurance ; burglary insurance, etc. The following general principles apply to all policies of insurance: 1. A contract of uberrima fides, i.e., of the utmost good faith . If the insured knows of any circumstances at all that may influence the underwriter ‘s opinion as to the risk he is incurring and consequently as to whether he will take it, or what premium he will charge if he does take it, then the insured should disclose that circumstance . There is this obligation to disclose what the insured knows and the concealment of a material circumstance by the insured known to him, whether the insured considered the same material or not, avoids the policy. See M’Lanahart v Universal Ins. Co., (U.S.) I Pet. 170, 7 L. Ed. 98. 2. Although full disclosure must be made when the contract is concluded, it is not every omission or misrepresentation that would enable an insurer to avoid liability . The misrepresentation should have been in respect of a material fact . The test of materiality is whether true disclosure would have influenced a reasonable insurer to decline the risk or to require a higher premium. However, if the misrepresentation or omission had been made with intent to deceive, then the misrepresentation or omission, however trivial or immaterial to the nature of the risk, will avoid the policy. See Penn mutual L. Ins. Co. v Mechanics’ Sav. Bank & trust Co., (C.A.6) 72 F. 413. 3. recovery for loss in policies of indemnity such as fire insurance policy is restricted to the value of property destroyed. A policy of fire insurance is in its nature a contract of indemnity and the amount payable under same is such a sum, not exceeding the sur insured for, as will indemnify the insure: against loss, or in other words, the actui value of the property damaged or destroyed. See, e.g., Citizens Ins. Co. v Foxbi. Inc., (C.A.8 Iowa)226 F.2d641.

Insurance Alternative Definition

A contract whereby, for an agreed premium, one party undertakes to indemnify the other aga,inst loss on a specified subject by specified perils. The party agreeing to make the indemnity is usually called the “insurer” or “underwriter;” the other, the “insured’ or “assured;” the agreed consideration, the “premium”; the written contract, a “policy”; the events insured against, “risks” or “perils”; and the subject, right, or interest to be protected, the “insurable interest.” 1 Phil. Ins. §§ 1-5. Called, also, “assurance.” Insurance is classified according to the nature of the risk insured against, or the nature of the property insured, the principal sorts being (1) fire insurance, being against injury to property by fire; (2) life insurance, being against injury by the death of one in whose interest the assured has a pecuniary interest; (3) marine insurance, being against injury to vessels or their cargo by any peril of navigation; and (4) accident insurance, being against loss from accidental personal injury Many other varieties, however, have become common in recent years, as against injury to crops by hail; against loss by defalcation; against defects of title to land, etc.

Synonyms of Insurance

noun

  • agreement to pay
  • assurance against loss
  • bond against risk
  • compensation for injury
  • compensation for loss
  • contract against future loss
  • contract against unknown contingencies
  • guarantee against loss
  • indemnification
  • indemnity against loss
  • pledge
  • promise
  • protection against loss
  • security against loss
  • stipulation to compensate for loss
  • warranty against loss
  • Associated Concepts: accident insurance
  • binder
  • casualty insurance
  • claim
  • coinsurance
  • contract of insurance
  • contributing insurance
  • controlled insurance
  • endowment insurance
  • excess insurance
  • fidelity insurance
  • fire insurance
  • group insurance
  • guaranty insurance
  • health insurance
  • insurance agent
  • insuranceapplication
  • insurance broker
  • insurance carrier
  • insured
  • insurer
  • liability insurance
  • life insurance
  • loss
  • marine insurance
  • nonforfeitable insurance
  • occupational disability insurance
  • ordinary insurance
  • paidup insurance
  • policy of insurance
  • premium
  • property insurance
  • reinsurance
  • surety insurance
  • term insurance
  • title insurance
  • valued insurance
  • vehicle insurance
  • whole life insurance

Related Entries of Insurance in the Encyclopedia of Law Project

Browse or run a search for Insurance in the American Encyclopedia of Law, the Asian Encyclopedia of Law, the European Encyclopedia of Law, the UK Encyclopedia of Law or the Latin American and Spanish Encyclopedia of Law.

Insurance in Historical Law

You might be interested in the historical meaning of this term. Browse or search for Insurance in Historical Law in the Encyclopedia of Law.

Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms

Search for legal acronyms and/or abbreviations containing Insurance in the Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms Dictionary.

Related Legal Terms

You might be also interested in these legal terms:

Mentioned in these terms

Act Of God, Actual Cash Value, Adjuster, Annuity, Assurance, Bargain In Good Fait, Binder, , C.i.f., Cancel, Cancer, Carry, Co-insurance, , Collateral Source Rule, Contaminate, Coverage, Destroy, Deviation, Discovery, Exemplary Damages, Explosion, F.a.a., F.D.I.C., Facility Of Payment Clause, Forthwith, Grace Period, Group Insurance, Hazard, Illness, Indemnity, Indemnity Insurance, Inference, Inherent Vice, Innocent Purchaser, Insurable, Insurable Interest, Insurance Adjuster, Insurance Agent, Interinsurance, Life Insurance, , Lost Or Not Lost, Marine Insurance, Material Fact, Member Of Household, Moral Hazard, Mutual Insurance Company, Odd Lot Doctrine, Open Insurance Policy, Pilferage, Policy Of Insurance, Rating, Refund Annuity, Reinsurance, Renew, Representation, Repurchase Agreement, Rider, , Social Security, Sue And Labor Clause, , Total Disability, Total Loss.

Browse

You might be interested in these references tools:

Resource Description
Insurance in the Dictionary Insurance in our legal dictionaries
Browse the Legal Thesaurus Find synonyms and related words of Insurance
Legal Maxims Maxims are established principles that jurists use as interpretive tools, invoked more frequently in international law
Legal Answers (Q&A) A community-driven knowledge creation process, of enduring value to a broad audience
Related topics Insurance in the World Encyclopedia of Law

Notice

This definition of Insurance is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This entry needs to be proofread.

Vocabularies (Semantic Web Information)

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Resource Description
Topic Map A group of names, occurrences and associations
Topic Tree A topic display format, showing the hierarchy
Sitemap Index Sitemap Index, including Taxonomies
https://legaldictionary.lawin.org/insurance/ The URI of Insurance (more about URIs)

Insurance in Law Enforcement

Main Entry: Law Enforcement in the Legal Dictionary. This section provides, in the context of Law Enforcement, a partial definition of insurance.

Resources

Legal English Vocabulary: Insurance in Spanish

Online translation of the English legal term insurance into Spanish: seguros (English to Spanish translation) . More about legal dictionary from english to spanish online.

Related to the Legal Thesaurus

Resources

See Also

  • Law Enforcement Officer
  • Police Work
  • Law Enforcement Agency

Further Reading

Insurance Definition (in the Accounting Vocabulary)

The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants offers the following definition of Insurance in a way that is easy for anybody to understand: System whereby individuals and companies that are concerned about potential hazards pay premiums to an insurance company, which reimburses them in the event of loss.

Concept of Insurance in the context of Real Property

A short definition of Insurance: A contract under which, for a consideration, one party (the insurer) agrees to indemnify another (the insured) for a possible loss under specific conditions. May be loss of life, health, property, or property rights.

E & O Insurance in the context of Real Property

See: Errors And Omission Insurance in this legal Dictionary.

Concept of Insurance in the context of Real Property

A short definition of Insurance: A contract under which, for a consideration, one party (the insurer) agrees to indemnify another (the insured) for a possible loss under specific conditions. May be loss of life, health, property, or property rights.

E & O Insurance in the context of Real Property

See: Errors And Omission Insurance in this legal Dictionary.

Insurance in Admiralty Law

For information on insurance in this context, see the entry on insurance in the maritime law encyclopedia.

Insurance

Resources

See Also

  • Social Protection
  • Social Security
  • Employment Affairs
  • Welfare State

Hierarchical Display of Insurance

Finance > Insurance
Law > Civil law > Civil law > Liability
Social Questions > Health > Medical science > Medicine > Medical report
Law > Criminal law > Criminal liability > Victim
European Union > EU institutions and European civil service > EU office or agency > European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority

Meaning of Insurance

Overview and more information about Insurance

For a more comprehensive understanding of Insurance, see in the general part of the online platform.[rtbs name=”xxx-xxx”]

Resources

Translation of Insurance

Thesaurus of Insurance

Finance > Insurance > Insurance
Law > Civil law > Civil law > Liability > Insurance
Social Questions > Health > Medical science > Medicine > Medical report > Insurance
Law > Criminal law > Criminal liability > Victim > Insurance
European Union > EU institutions and European civil service > EU office or agency > European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority > Insurance

See also

Hierarchical Display of Insurance

Finance

Meaning of Insurance

Overview and more information about Insurance

For a more comprehensive understanding of Insurance, see in the general part of the online platform.[rtbs name=”xxx-xxx”]

Resources

Translation of Insurance

Thesaurus of Insurance

Finance > Insurance

See also

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